When we think about growing new plants from seeds, we usually think about spring, but autumn is often the time when plants release their seeds. “They want to get their seeds tucked in and cozy over the winter months because it’s really cold,” Maddie Moate explains, “so that in the spring when the sun’s out those new plants can push up out of the ground and make the most of the sunshine.”
If a plant was to just dump all of its seeds in one place right next to itself, when those seeds try to grow, that isn’t going to be enough space food or water because the parent plant is already using those things up. So the parent plant wants to try and spread its seeds far and wide so there’s more chance of the seed finding a spot where there’s less competition.
This is called seed dispersal. But how do plants do it? Walk through an autumnal forest with Moate and her macro camera lens as she gets an excellent up-close look at how blackberries, acorns, chestnuts, and dandelions find ways to create their plant offspring.
There’s more from Maddie Moate on TKSST or on her site.
Then watch these seed and seed dispersal videos next:
• Acorn by Madeline Sharafian
• This humidity-powered seed drills itself into the ground
• Exploding plants disperse their seeds with high pressure bursts
• Look Inside The Doomsday Vault That Protects Seeds Of The World
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